My 5-step security checklist for every new Windows PC
Built into Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education, BitLocker encrypts your system drive to protect it against unauthorized access. Normally, a person who grabs your computer might be able to retrieve the files on your system drive. To do that, they may try to boot up your PC from a USB stick or connect the…
Built into Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education, BitLocker encrypts your system drive to protect it against unauthorized access. Normally, a person who grabs your computer might be able to retrieve the files on your system drive. To do that, they may try to boot up your PC from a USB stick or connect the drive itself to a different machine.
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With BitLocker enabled, though, someone who snags your PC or hard drive wouldn’t be able to access your data without the 48-digit recovery key, which is automatically generated. To support BitLocker, your PC must be equipped with a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip, which covers pretty much any computer made over the past eight or nine years.
Enabling BitLocker is one of the first things I do on any new Windows 11 PC. To set this up, open File Explorer, right-click on your system drive, and select “Turn on BitLocker” from the context menu. Choose where you want to back up your recovery key, decide which part of the drive you wish to encrypt, and then run the system check. The drive is then encrypted.
